Bump Firefighters In St. Pat's Line

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

The Fighting 69th, the cops and the firefighters - that's been the starting order of the St. Patrick's Day Parade down Fifth Ave. for as long as anyone can remember.

But this year, if St. Patrick's Day Committee Chairman John Dunleavy has his way, the FDNY's Irish contingent will start marching about 40 minutes after the parade's start. Mr. Dunleavy, in a fit of pique over an unauthorized banner that was unfurled by a group of visiting New Orleans firefighters marching with the FDNY last year, has bumped the Bravest to the back of the pack.

"We're disappointed; it's a real boneheaded decision by one individual," said Uniformed Fire Officers' Association President Peter L. Gorman. "We have a proud tradition of marching behind the Fighting 69th and the NYPD, and he has no right to take away that honor because he's angry about a banner that was unfurled with the best of intentions."